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What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Bug of the Month November 2009: Halloween Bug or Florida Predatory Stink Bug

We received the following letter in such a timely manner that we thought we would choose it for the Bug of the Month for November.  Sadly, Halloween will have already passed, but adult Florida Predatory Stink Bugs will continue to appear.  We are combining that letter with a previous letter that shows the radically different immature insects that are known to feed in packs.  Curious readers can also turn to BugGuide for more information on the Florida Predatory Stink Bug or Halloween Bug.

Black/orange “jack o’lantern” beetle
October 26, 2009
We spotted this beetle on our trash toter lid on October 23. He was apparently out for a stroll – did not fly while we watched. His markings are striking – a built-in Halloween costume!
Patrice and Allen Sigmon
High Point, NC

Halloween Bug
Halloween Bug

Dear Patrice and Allen,
Though you did not realize it, you actually correctly identified your insect.  The Florida Predatory Stink Bug, Euthyrhunchus floridanus, is frequently called the Halloween Bug because of its coloration and markings as well as its timely appearance.  It is also the time of the month for us to select a Bug of the Month for November 2009, and we plan to use your letter and photo as a point of departure, and include an image of the startlingly different immature insects as well.

Immature Florida Predatory Stink Bugs communally feeding on a Carpenter Bee

Red and black what I think is a beetle eating a bumble bee
Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 1:42 PM
I was outside working in my yard when I looked up on my awning and saw what I thought was a bumble bee holding a flower, but then I saw some liquid drop and I decided to look closer. When I did, I saw that it was a bunch of small red and black beetles eating the bumble bee. I was kind of shocked. I just moved to northern North Carolina and have seen some strange bugs, but these ones eating the bumble bee is the strangest. If you could, please tell me what this is.
Angelica
Reidsville, NC

Florida Predatory Stink Bugs eat Bumble Bee
Florida Predatory Stink Bugs eat Bumble Bee

Hi Angelica,
These are immature Florida Predatory Sting Bugs, Euthyrhynchus floridanus, sometimes called Halloween Bugs because of the black and orange coloration of the adults, which are winged. According to BugGuide, they are: “Predatory on other insects, including caterpillars, beetle. Nymphs, and to some extent, adults, are gregarious, and may attack large prey in groups.” Your photo nicely illustrates this. Despite what your photo illustrates, the Florida Predatory Stink Bug is a beneficial insect because of the caterpillars and beetles it consumes. We are guessing Bees, since they can easily fly away, are not commonly eaten.

Update: From Eric Eaton
Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:12:31 -0700 (PDT)
The predatory stink bugs appear to be scavenging the remains of a dead carpenter bee (it is missing both hind legs, so who can say for certain…). Many hemipterans, even plant-feeders, will scavenge dead insects on occasion.
Eric

Aggregation of Immature Florida Predatory Stink Bugs

Aggregation of Immature Florida Predatory Stink Bugs

Posted Site News § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Bronze Orange Bug relative from Australia

November 19, 2009
Thank you so much!
I have one more bug picture that I have yet to identify.  I took it when I was in the Daintree Rainforest in Australia.  I looks like a stink bug to me, but I’ve never seen anything with the coloring and design.
Thanks again! I really appreciate your help!
Heather Scrowther
Daintree Rainforest, Australia

Unknown Large Stink Bug from Australia

Unknown Large Stink Bug from Australia

Hi again Heather,
The Bronze Orange Bug, Musgraveia sulciventris, is one of the Large Stink Bugs in the family Tessaratomidae, and it looks similar to your specimen, but your individual is more colorful.  You can see pictures of the Bronze Orange Bug on saveourwaterwaysnow.com and on the Brisbane Insect Website.  We are relatively certain your bug is in the same family, and perhaps the same genus, and it might even be a color variation.  We located images of another member of the genus, Musgraveia antennata, but it doesn’t match either.  The Illustrated Catalog of Tessaratomidae has some similar specimens, but nothing exact.  There are some unpictured specimens from the genus Oncomeris, and a picture of Oncomeris flavicornis flavicornis from New Guinea that has similar legs.  Perhaps one of our readers will be able to assist us in an exact identification.

Posted 19 November 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

Halloween Bug or Florida Predatory Stink Bug

Black/orange “jack o’lantern” beetle
October 26, 2009
We spotted this beetle on our trash toter lid on October 23. He was apparently out for a stroll – did not fly while we watched. His markings are striking – a built-in Halloween costume!
Patrice and Allen Sigmon
High Point, NC

Halloween Bug

Halloween Bug

Dear Patrice and Allen,
Though you did not realize it, you actually correctly identified your insect.  The Florida Predatory Stink Bug, Euthyrhunchus floridanus, is frequently called the Halloween Bug because of its coloration and markings as well as its timely appearance.  It is also the time of the month for us to select a Bug of the Month for November 2009, and we plan to use your letter and photo as a point of departure, and include an image of the startlingly different immature insects as well.

Posted 27 October 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Immature Florida Predatory Stink Bugs

Beetles (?) on grapevine
October 2, 2009
I noticed these colorful guys piled up on the leaf of our wild grape vine this morning (Oct. 2), and would be interested to know what they are and what they might be doing (there’s not a lot of obvious activity). As you can see, they are cherry red on the back with twin black markings. The head and segment closest to the head are glossy black, with black antennae. They are roughly half an inch end-to-end. I don’t recall seeing insects with these markings in the area (Accomack County, Eastern Shore of Virginia) before, and certainly not in a cluster like this. Thanks for your help.
Linda Cuttone
Accomack County, VA (Eastern Shore)

Florida Predatory Stink Bug Nymphs

Florida Predatory Stink Bug Nymphs

Hi Linda,
Despite you writing from Virginia, your bugs are Florida Predatory Stink Bugs, Euthrhynchus floridanus.  BugGuide indicates:  “Predatory on other insects, including caterpillars, beetle. Nymphs, and to some extent, adults, are gregarious, and may attack large prey in groups.“  The orange and black adults are sometimes called Halloween Bugs since they appear near the end of October.

Posted 02 October 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Green Stink Bug Nymph

Yellow, black, orange beetle?
September 11, 2009
Hi,
I am a photographer here in Eastern PA, I go to different National Parks here to photograph insects and others. I found this fellow hanging on a leaf in the dense Nolde Forest here in Reading, PA. After looking online I still can not identify this bug/beetle? Where I found him is was damp and in dense forest. Any ideas?
Monique Francescon
Nolde Forest/ Reading, PA

Immature Green Stink Bug

Immature Green Stink Bug

HI Monique,
We spent a bit of time searching through images on BugGuide, but we are confident we have identified your insect as Acrosternum hilare.  Interestingly, you may find it hard to believe that the common name is the Green Stink Bug.  This is an immature specimen and the coloration is quite variable.  BugGuide also has this disclaimer:  “This is our best interpretation of the BugGuide images based upon Herb Pilcher’s images above. The variation in these images may be because the species is very variable, or it may be that we have images of several different species of Acrosternum here. We put these images on both the genus and the A. hilare species pages since, as a number of people have commented, it is not clear that we yet know how to tell the different Acrosternum species apart.”

Hi!
Thank you for your prompt response! Using the name of the bug you gave me, I looked it up and it appears to be a green stink bug nymph…Very cool and thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated.
Monique Francescon

Posted 12 September 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

African Painted Bugs: Invasive species spreading in California

Bug identification and eradication question (addendum)
September 10, 2009
What is this bug, what destruction does it cause, and how do I eradicate it from my garden in a way that doesn’t negatively affect my vegetable/flower garden? Thanks!  Forget to tell you that I took this picture a few days ago (9/6/09).
Jane
Loma Linda, CA

African Painted Bugs

African Painted Bugs

Hi Jane,
We encountered this very same invasive exotic insect on our own Collard Greens and Kale this summer in our Mount Washington, Los Angeles garden.  At that time, we identified it as the Painted Bug, Bagrada hilaris, an African Stink Bug that has been reported in California since 2008.  Then we explained that we had no ethical problem killing invasive exotic insects that devour our food.  We had squashed the few specimens we found, but as we got busy, the population got out of control.  We eventually found hundreds on our plants and we had to rip out the kale and Collard Greens.  The next time we plant vegetables from the cabbage family, we are going to be extremely vigilant to keep the population down to a minimum.  We don’t like to spray our food with pesticide, so we prefer to hand pick offensive species.  Since African Painted Bugs are Stink Bugs that suck juices from plants, when they are quite plentiful, they might kill the plant.    If there are no known predators, the African Painted Bugs might become a very serious agricultural pest in California.

Posted 11 September 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Stink Bug

Banasa Stink Bug
August 11, 2009
I found this stink bug on my porch in upstate NY (near Albany) in late June. I identified it through bugguide.net as Banasa Dimiata, a species of stink bug. I hadn’t seen this species on your site in a few years, so I thought you might like the picture!
Naomi
Albany, NY

Stink Bug: Banasa dimiata

Stink Bug: Banasa dimiata

Hi Naomi,
Thanks for sending us your excellent photo of Banasa dimiata, a Stink Bug represented on BugGuide.

Posted 11 August 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Harlequin Stink Bug in Mount Washington

July 26, 2009
While photographing the Bagrada hilaris mating on our kale, we noticed this Harlequin Stink Bug, Murgantia histrionica, on our collard greens.  They look quite similar in terms of color and markings, but the Bagrada is much smaller.

Harlequin Stink Bug

Harlequin Stink Bug

We went back out with the camera, placed two specimens in the freezer to slow them down, and took the following size comparison photo between Bagrada and Murgantia.

Bagrada (left) and Murgantia size comparison

Bagrada (left) and Murgantia size comparison

Posted 26 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Painted Bugs from Africa mating in Mount Washington: Bagrada hilaris

July 26, 2009
We noticed some tiny Stink Bugs on our kale and collard greens yesterday, so today we took out the camera and shot some photos.  According to BugGuide, this is a new Invasive Exotic species from Africa, Bagrada hilaris.  It is a very small Stink Bug, about a quarter of the size of the similarly marked Harlequin Stink Bug we also photographed today.  We should try to get one more photo as a size comparison.

Mating Invasive Exotic Stink Bugs in our own garden

Mating Invasive Exotic Stink Bugs in our own garden

We went back out with the camera, placed two specimens in the freezer to slow them down, and took the following size comparison photo between Bagrada and Murgantia and then posted the images to BugGuide.

Bagrada (left) and Murgantia size comparison

Bagrada (left) and Murgantia size comparison

The Natural History of Orange County website has a nice page documenting the life history of what the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commissioner is calling the Painted Bug in a posted pdf entitled Bagrada_hilaris.

Update:  We wrote to Stephanie at the US Department of Agriculture
Hi Stephanie,
Apparently this new African Stink Bug was first documented in Los
Angeles and Orange Counties last year.  Does anyone need specimens
before I squash what is feeding on my collard greens and kale?
Daniel Marlos

Thanks so much for letting us know. Apparantly, it has been widespread in California for a while now and has been found in La Crescenta, Altadena, Eagle Rock, Pico Rivera, Bell Gardens, Los Angeles, and Long Beach, which are in a roughly 27 x 10 mile swath north-south within the Los Angeles basin in Los Angeles County, California.
Go ahead and squash ‘em. However, I won’t have to put you on the nasty reader list now, would I?
Take care,
Stephanie

Ed. Note:  On killing insects
We need to clarify several things here.  Nasty readers are people who are rude to us, not people who kill harmless insects and other arthropods out of fear or ignorance.  We strive to educate the public regarding fierce looking, but harmless or beneficial creatures that are often squashed or that become unnecessary carnage by other means.  We have no ethical problem with the killing of problematic species, and invasive exotic Stink Bugs feeding on our garden crop would be one of those exceptions.  We are putting ourselves on blast here:  Yes, we will squash all the Bagrada hilaris we find on our produce since we don’t use insecticides in our vegetable patch.

Posted 26 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: ,

Florida Predatory Stink Bug

beautiful iridescent green stink bug with two orange spots on thorax-maybe Florida Predatory Stink bug?
July 15, 2009
Hey bugman,
I found this stink bug outside our back door on Friday, July 10, 2009 and thought it was so beautiful. I think it might be a Florida predatory Stink bug as I have seen some pictures of them that look kind of like this. I found one last summer, however, that looked a lot different than this one. Is this one a Florida Predatory Stink Bug? Thanks for any help you can give me. And again, thanks for such a wonderful website. I come back here several times a day to look at all the wonderful pictures.
Thanks Again,
Michael Davis
Seymour (just south of Knoxville), Tennessee

Florida Predatory Stink Bug

Florida Predatory Stink Bug

Hi Michael,
You are absolutely correct.  This is a Florida Predatory Stink Bug, Euthyrhynchus floridanus.  We also frequently get identification request for the brightly colored hatchlings.  Because of its coloration, the Florida Predatory Stink Bug is sometimes called a Halloween Bug.

Posted 16 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Unknown Stink Bug from Hong Kong

Bug Identity
May 30, 2009
Hello bugman,
We found this brown bug on our balcony in Hong Kong. We’re curious to know its origins, living habits and what it eats. Can you help?
Email Signature
Hong Kong, China

Unknown Stink Bug

Unknown Stink Bug

Dear Email Signature,
This is some species of Stink Bug in the family Pentatomidae.  We will try to get you an exact species name, or perhaps one of our readers will have the time to research this Stink Bug’s taxonomy.

Posted 13 July 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Predatory Stink Bug eats Gypsy Moth Caterpillar

Carnivorous Orange Beetle
Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 6:37 PM
My wife spotted this pair in the backyard. I don’t know the identity of either bug, but found the scene quite interesting. I’m just curious what was sucking the life out of what.
Dave
Beloit, WI

Predatory Stink Bug eats invasive Gypsy Moth Caterpillar

Predatory Stink Bug eats invasive Gypsy Moth Caterpillar

Hi Dave,
We located a nearly identical image on BugGuide, except that three Predatory Stink Bugs in the genus Apateticus are feeding on a Gypsy Moth Caterpillar.  Sadly, BugGuide does not provide any information on the genus and a nymph or immature insect, like the one in your photo, is often quite difficult to identify to the species level.  We can tell you that the Gypsy Moth Caterpillar, Lymantria dispar, is an introduced pest species.  BugGuide has this to say about the range of the Gypsy Moth:  “Native to Eurasia, introduced to North America at Boston, Massachusetts circa 1869 and has been spreading ever since ( US Forest Service ). Michigan, Pennsylvania, and all states to the north and east of these.  Also much of Wisconsin.  Also the northern parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.  Most of West Virginia is included in the insect’s range, as well as parts of Virginia and North Carolina.  The United States Forest Service estimates the moth’s range is spreading south and west at a rate of about 21 kilometers per year.  In Canada, the Gypsy Moth is present in British Columbia and in much of eastern Canada. “  BugGuide has the following comments with regards to food, life cycle and general remarks:  “Food Many hardwood species.  A very partial list includes Red Oak, Cherries, Willows, Hickories, and Pines.  Over 500 spp. of plants are known hosts.
Life Cycle In late summer females lay up to 1,000 eggs per egg mass.  The eggs overwinter and hatch in the Spring.  Larvae feed heavily and do considerable damage to forests.  Pupation typically occurs in mid-Summer.
Remarks Etienne Leopold Trouvelot, an amateur entomologist, brought Gypsy Moths into the United States to see if they could be successfully reared for silk culture.  Around 1869 some of Trouvelot’s charges escaped from his home near Boston.  Realizing the potential magnitude of the problem, he reported the escape but no action was taken until the infestation grew serious several years later. Trouvelot later became interested in astronomy and astronomical illustration, and eventually became a Harvard professor of Astronomy. ”

Predatory Stink Bug eats invasive Gypsy Moth Caterpillar

Predatory Stink Bug eats invasive Gypsy Moth Caterpillar

Posted 07 July 2009 § Tussock Moth Caterpillars ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,

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